It just so happened that the newspaper Pravda shut down less than a year before its 80th anniversary. As a matter of fact, it would not be correct to say that the newspaper existed for 79 years: those who have studied the history of the Soviet press know that Pravda was shut down several times during the times of Tsarist Russia.

However, one may trace chain of logic chain from the period of 1912 until 1991: the newspaper was a publication of the Communist Party, and, in this capacity, it became a state newspaper, but the chain was broken after the well-known order that was signed by the Russian president on August 22, 1991. The destroyed Communist Party and its team of journalists did not struggle for their newspaper or for its history. Instead, registered the new paper with the same title.

The managers of the new newspaper could not resist the temptations of the new era and of the new economy: the former editor-in-chief (the current speaker of the Russian parliament) Gennady Seleznyov left the paper to the Greek swindlers, who claimed to be communists themselves.

The next editor-in-chief, Alexander Ilyin, handed Pravda"s trademark, the Soviet decorations of the communist newspaper that were in the offices of the new Pravda by an oversight of the authorities, and the registration certificate that was issued in August of 1991 over to the Yannikoses (the new owners).

At this time, a very serious split happened in the editorial office. Over 90% of journalists who had been working for Pravda until the coup d"etat of 1991 quit their jobs. Those people established their own version of Pravda, which was then closed due to the government pressure.

The journalists had to take their fight to cyberspace: the internet newspaper PRAVDA On-line was launched in January of 1999, the first Russian newspaper of its kind. We think that both the newly registered newspaper and PRAVDA On-line (you are now on its server) have the equal moral right to continue the history of the newspaper that was closed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin in August of 1991. The number of journalists that work in the head offices of both publications is comparable with the number of journalists who worked for Pravda at the time it was closed.

In spite of the fact that the journalists of both these publications are still in touch with each other, we have the different conceptions for the news of Russia, as well as the world. The newspaper Pravda analyzes events from the point of view of the party"s interests, whereas PRAVDA On-line takes a pro-Russian approach to forming its policy. Won"t you agree that this gives more diversity to the world?